From Publishers Weekly
A brave seafaring cat at the turn of the (last) century narrates her unusual tale at the ripe old age of 31, in this charming little book. Named Mrs. Moore (though she was no "kitten-bride" and never wed) she looks back on an eventful life, commenting on the human (and animal) condition for her human readers. Descended from a long line of sea-voyaging felines, Mrs. Moore is born in 1899 on the schooner Estella Gomez, where she lives among a superstitious crew, including a cat-hating mate and an animal-loving cook. She and her brother barely survive a shipwreck, and only because a little boy, Griffin, finds them washed up on the beach and fiercely nurses them back to life. Griffin gives Mrs. Moore her name and dubs her brother Fafner. The boy lives with his fussy sister, Ada, and his mother, Mary Bishop, who tends the lighthouse on what is now Key West. A Northern girl, Mary came to the island with her husband, remaining there after his death. Though romance blossoms with a local clergyman, Mary's life takes a surprising twist when an oddly dressed, limping stranger stumbles to their door. Mrs. Moore is shocked to recognize the man as the cat-friendly cook from the ship. But Mary's relationship to the weary survivor is complicated, leading her to wrestle with, and finally resolve, old family traumas. Commendably, Rutledge (A Cat's Little Instruction Book), recounts his lighthearted story with no lapses into sentimentality or cuteness. Cat lovers will be delighted with the wise Mrs. Moore, whose feline observations have wisdom, a lilting grace and the charm of a fairy tale.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
The author of Diary of a Cat (1995, etc.) returns with a suspense tale. This time, the cat, born on the schooner Estella Gomez as it sailed the straits of Florida in 1899, is the never-betrothed Mrs. Moore, a kindly, dignified feline (now 31 years old!) whose voice is not unlike that of A Passage to India's Mrs. Moore and who, quite secretly, reads Kipling and Proust. Her ancestry goes back to the pirate Jean Lafitte and even to Shakespeare. Mrs. Moore loves her days and nights at sea, especially after a Caribbean storm sweeps her overboard and she's washed ashore on an enchanted island (it turns out to be Key West), where her main companions are her frail brother, Fafner (Wagner's giant?), and the lighthouse keeper's son, Griffin, an eccentric child with a heart as deep and dark as the sea. Griffin's widowed mother, Mary, tends the lighthouse. The rest is episodic mini-adventures about palm trees and shrimp, the friendly Revered Neighbor, and the amazing recovery of the frail cook from the sunken Estella Gomez, who is adopted by Fafner. Superior whimsy, nicely told, and perfect for the cat-fancier's Christmas. --
Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
